Aim for a Great Finish

This summer marks the second year since my grandfather passed away from dementia. He was the one who was always there for me.
When I would go without, he was there to give me the things that make a childhood what it is. To say I miss him would be an understatement. I wasn't right beside him when he passed, I beat myself up about that every day.
When I was four my grandmother died of cancer. Everyone has a story and the loss of a loved one is always a part of it, at one point or another. Death is an aspect of life that is not merciful, when it is your time it's your time. As a child things don't feel the same, for the most part you feel confusion. Pain is a part of growing up, learning about how life is, is the hardest part of it all.
One day it all ends for us all, and yet we continue living on. The reason is, life is filled with so much that we need to feel, hear and be a part of.
I don't want to miss a thing, being able to say that you did everything you wanted to, that sounds like a good end to me.

Music is a soul

There are days when we all need someone, or something to help us.
For a long time it has been music for me. Music is its own entity, a mood, a state of mind, raw emotion channelling through everyone. When you hear a song from five years ago it is something special, the moment you hear it, that time of your life comes flooding back.
Music is a drug for many people, for me it is more than just a thing. Writing is a way for people to express themselves, you can turn any text into a thing of music. Unlike humanity, music can be seen for what it is, there is no shroud that covers its identity. The emotion behind a musician's experiences are true for everyone that listens, what you hear is what you feel, it may not be what the next person feels or hears.
One of the best things about the summer is that music is outdoors, flowing all around the community. Some people are karaoke singers, others  sing only in the shower. With every thing considered, music has been and always will serve as glue.
There are personalities that have nothing in common, but a single song can bridge a gap and bring unlikely friends together.
Music is what some call magic.

How exciting can the Playoffs get?

These playoffs were definitely not scripted...

It has been only three times in the Stanley Cup playoffs that a team has come from a 3-0 series deficit and won the series in four straight making it 3-4. The Philadelphia Flyers did it against the Boston Bruins in the quarter finals to advance to the Conference finals against the Montreal Canadiens. The  Canadiens were seeded eighth in the playoffs. The Canadiens beat the top seeded Washington Capitals — the number one team in the NHL in scoring — in the first round.
The Canadians then faced off against the Pittsburgh Penguins – the defending Stanley Cup champions.  The penguins coughed up the series to Montreal in game seven. It can be  easily said that the series with the Canadiens and Flyers will be the most anticipated. In the Western Conference finals, the San Jose Sharks are going  toe to toe with the Chicago Blackhawks,  a young fast-skating team that has a good  future ahead of them. The San Jose Sharks have been to the playoffs but find themselves unable to win when it counts the most. This series will be a test for both teams to show there fans and themselves that they can win when the stake are highest. With everything on the line, these teams have to dig deep and find a way to win. On both sides of the playoff tree there is a distinguishing difference in the turn out. The Conference finals in the east are entirely different form the finals in the west. The first and second seeded teams are facing off in the west and the seventh and eighth seeded teams are fighting it out in the east.
There are people who feel the winner in the west will take home the Stanley Cup this year, but if anything is clear it is that the two eastern teams that are left have overcome adversity and have a shot at winning against any team. The contrast between the two series could not be any more pronounced. Whichever team takes home the Stanley Cup will be a part of history – this could  possibly be the most exciting playoffs since the lockout.

Education System

Everyday you try to make ends meet to provide a home for your family and  to make something of your life. The economy, the time it takes, the other people, all these things are obstacles in life that you have to go through. There are many choices to be made, with very little knowledge of how things may turn out. The skills that you acquire that help you through life are taught through learning the hard way.  You cannot read a book and know how to live life, or what could happen if you did this or that.

Kids of today are finding it easier to dwell on less important things, pathways that make it easier for them to go on with life. The choices we make early on are very crucial. Should we allow for the culture of today to make decisions for the youth? Children watch TV and see characters that they themselves wish to be, and we tell them they can be whatever they want. Then we come out with labels and stereotypes that give people no choice in who they are to others.

 Kids are kids not adults that are here to be moulded into what society feels they should be. We have testing and activities that separate the “weak-minded” and the “intellectually gifted” within a community. High schools, in particular, have become places where kids are slotted into a certain path and never given an equal chance to become what they want to be. Based on tests and one-way learning , kids are missing out because the education system feels it needs to baby every person that walks through its doors.

I am currently in high school and from what I see the education system has become pitiful and weak. Colleges and Universities won't take a large portion of graduates because there is a large number of high school graduates that are not prepared. It is the education system's responsibility to make sure that the youth in our society have equal opportunity and are able to thrive and become all they can be.

The outcome for a Journalist

When I first thought about being a journalist I wanted to live in the big city and work on the big news stories. Looking on it now, I feel differently about it. I would rather work in a small city with a tight knit community.
With this choice, it would take a lot longer time for me to experience career burn-out or a need to retire from the field. Being apart of a community and seeing what you write having an effect on people, and it causing discussion is a feeling that I myself cannot describe.
I may not be 100 percent sure of where I want to go, but I'm going to keep this in mind. A journalist's career can be short or long depending on the person, and that person may need to make a change in the future to help keep them happy.

The Need to be Known

As a reporter you need to know who to talk to, who is important with each story. If you have a criminal case, it is clear that you would talk to the police officers involved. If the case has something to do with theft, getting the victim's name is important. Informing people of what is going on around them every day is a task that takes diligence, tenacity, and connections. Knowing what connections to use and how to use them can make or break a story. Learning the boundaries and finding a way to do a story are aspects of the job that require skill, which you work on throughout your career. I have noticed that in a short period of time you can have many connections with law enforcement, or even small business owners. A news reporter is only as good as his or her connections.

Looking Ahead

Over the last weeks of my placement at The Intelligencer, I plan on writing as much columns, briefs, and “people and events” as possible. By getting my name out there, I am creating a structure for my future. I owe a lot to my school and all the people I currently call co-workers here at the Intelligencer. Without their guidance I would be at square one, unaware of what I'm missing. I'm working hard to use my time here as wisely as possible.  Opportunities come around in life, its all about what you do with them.